Mickelson cards 63, holds 1-shot lead midway through Travelers
Phil Mickelson fired a 7-under 63 on Friday to take a one-shot lead into the weekend at the Travelers Championship.
The 50-year-old rebounded from an early bogey in Round 2 to post his second straight score of 64 or better at TPC River Highlands. This is the first time in 624 PGA Tour starts that Mickelson has opened a tournament with two rounds of 64 or lower
Additionally, Mickelson's 127 total through 36 holes is the second-lowest of his career.
Rory McIlroy and Bryson DeChambeau were Mickelson's playing partners, and surprisingly, he was able to contain himself instead of trying to match his younger competitors' power off the tee.
"I made some strides in the sense that I didn't try to go toe to toe with two of the longest guys in the game, Bryson and Rory," Mickelson said. "... Playing my game and the way the course set up for me was a challenge when you're playing with guys that hit it like that, but it allowed me to play some good golf."
Leading the chase of Lefty is Will Gordon and first-round leader Mackenzie Hughes.
Gordon, who doesn't hold any PGA Tour status and is competing in the Travelers Championship through a sponsor's invite, carded an 8-under 62 to set the pace early on Friday. The 23-year-old is making only his fifth PGA Tour start.
Hughes followed his first-round 60 with a 2-under 68. Mickelson and Gordon will join the Canadian in the final group on Saturday.
Here's the top of the leaderboard after Round 2:
| Place | Player | To Par | R2 Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Phil Mickelson | -13 | 63 |
| T2 | Will Gordon | -12 | 62 |
| T2 | Mackenzie Hughes | -12 | 68 |
| T4 | Xander Schauffele | -9 | 68 |
| T4 | Brendan Steele | -9 | 62 |
| T4 | Rory McIlroy | -9 | 68 |
| T4 | Brendon Todd | -9 | 65 |
| T4 | Marc Leishman | -9 | 65 |
McIlroy and Xander Schauffele failed to repeat their Thursday efforts, with both players shooting ho-hum 68s to remain in contention.
McIlroy's mediocre second round can be attributed to a terrible day with his irons. After leading the field in strokes gained: approach on Thursday, he ranked 133rd on Friday.
Bryson DeChambeau (8-under), Dustin Johnson (7-under), Patrick Cantlay (7-under), Jon Rahm (6-under), and Jordan Spieth (4-under) all made the 4-under cut.
However, notables Justin Thomas, Gary Woodland, and Collin Morikawa failed to qualify for the weekend. Morikawa snapped his 22 consecutive cuts made streak while missing his first cut as a professional.
Round 3 tee times for Saturday were moved up. Players will tee off on split tees between 7:00 a.m and 9:00 a.m. ET in groups of three.